The Albuquerque chapter of the American Institute of Architects called out eight projects in its 2016 Architecture Design Awards earlier this month.

The projects were selected for quality design, innovative approaches and sustainability, according to the organization.

An Honor Award went to Sam Sterling Architecture for the Wilway Addition in the small architectural project category. Stefanie Luna and Jeff Tomlinson are the owners of the Albuquerque home, which saw extensive interior and exterior remodeling and design. Sunbelt Properties was the contractor.

AIA Albuquerque will be hosting an open house Feb. 2 for those wanting to see the award-winning design boards. More details: 505.242.9800.

Business way out of town: Todd Clarke, CEO of NM Apartment Advisors, is always happy to talk up investment opportunities in the Albuquerque multi-family market. In fact, he’ll travel far to plant the seed for future business.

Albuquerque commercial real estate executive Todd Clarke, right center, was an instructor at a recent investment forum in Korea, where he talked up the Albuquerque multi-family market. (Courtesy of Todd Clarke)

Clarke recently made a presentation at a Korean investment forum on deals to be had in the U.S. and ABQ in particular. He also taught a course for the CCIM Institute in Korea, a commercial real estate training organization.

“I think this is a long game, the first step in establishing a relationship (with Korean investors),” said Clarke. “Hopefully, this will be followed tours of the market and maybe, just maybe, new money in our market.”

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Gemini Rosemont office deal: Santa Fe-based Gemini Rosemont Commercial Real Estate wrapped up the year with a major office building acquisition in the Seattle area.

The property is One Twelfth @ Twelfth, a three-building campus just off of Interstate 405 on the north edge of downtown in the tech-heavy Seattle submarket of Bellevue.

Officials of Gemini Rosemont announced that it had bought One Twelfth in a partnership with Hong Kong-based Gemini Investments but did not say how much they paid. The price was revealed recently when King County recorded the transaction.

According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, the building sold for nearly $202.7 million. The newspaper identified the seller as Des Moines, Iowa-based Principal Global Investors, the real estate arm of Principal Financial Group, which paid $134.1 million for the property 12 years ago. The value of the 480,389-square-foot campus shot up earlier this year when the buildings became fully leased.

BitTitan and VoiceBox Technologies rented a total of 127,400 square feet in separate deals, according to the newspaper.

Earlier this year, Gemini scooped up Class A office buildings in Raleigh-Durham and San Diego.

A company spokesman said the company expects “additional acquisitions” in Washington State’s Emerald city in the near future.